What are additives?
A food additive is anything present in food other than the basic foodstuff. Additives can be put into foods during production, during processing, or through food packaging. Much of the food we find at today's supermarkets is highly processed and contains numerous food additives.

Why are they used?
These substances are used to change the way food tastes (affecting the flavour, texture, consistency, and aroma), to change the way food looks (altering the colour and texture), to improve the nutritional quality of foods (adding vitamins and minerals), and to increase the food's shelf life to prevent spoilage. They are also used to preserve food and to stop fat going rancid. However these uses account for only 1% by weight of all the additives used. About 90% of additives in processed food are cosmetic. "The vast majority are used to make cheap fat, constipating starch and subsidised sugars look and taste like natural food." Felicity Lawrence.

How many additives are around?
There are 313 additives in use. For a full list of these additives and their E numbers, please follow the link below
» www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chemsafe/additivesbranch/enumberlist

Are they safe?
All additives in the UK and Europe are controlled by law, and can only be used following stringent tests and approval by an independent committee of scientists and medical experts. However critics of the testing system have raised doubts about many of them.

What are the problems with them?
Increasingly links with specific additives and diseases and health problems are being made. Indeed, a number of food additives initially approved were later proven to be harmful, and had to be banned.

Furthermore, while certain food additives may be safe for some people, they can cause others to experience harmful side effects. Recent (2006) Italian research now indicates aspartame may cause cancer. Those who suffer from the rare disease phenylketonuria (PKU) are unable to metablolize the artificial sweetener aspartame; this food additive could cause such individuals to develop serious brain damage. (Food Standards Agency (FIS). 'Aspartame'. FIS. March 15, 2004)

MSG has also been shown to be harmful to certain people; studies indicate that this food additive can cause sensitive individuals to experience headache, nausea, weakness, and difficulty breathing. (Center for Science in the Public Interest. 'CSPI's Guide to Food Additives'. Center for Science in the Public Interest. Accessed September 2004)

Tartrazine or E102 has been linked to hyperactivity in children. Other additives which can be a problem for asthmatics or aspirin sensitive people possibly those sensitive to 'salicylates'

Cocktail effect
Furthermore, new research shows that mixtures of additives can have a much more potent effect on our nerve cells than each additive on its own.

The researchers at the University of Liverpool examined the toxic effects on nerve cells by using a combination of the following four common food additives:

• E133 Brilliant Blue with with E621 monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• E104 Quinoline Yellow with E951 L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester.

(The research has been published in Volume 90, Number 1, Toxicological Sciences Magazine, March 2006, article entitled 'Synergistic interactions between commonly used food additives in a developmental neurotoxicity test' contributed by Karen Lau, W. Graham McLean, Dominic P. Williams and C. Vyvyan Howard.)

Brilliant Blue can be found in a selection of sweets, some processed peas, various soft drinks and some confectionery, desserts and ices.

MSG is banned in foods for young children but can be found in some pasta with sauce products, a large number of crisps, processed cheeses and prepared meals.

Quinoline Yellow - is found in some smoked haddock, confectionery, selected pickles and some cold and flu remedies.

Aspartame - can be found in diet drinks, chewing gums, a selection of sweets, desserts and medicines.

The effect on cells was up to four times greater when Brilliant Blue and MSG were combined, and up to seven times greater when Quinoline Yellow and Aspartame were combined. The study shows that when the nerve cells were exposed to MSG and Brilliant Blue or Aspartame and Quinoline Yellow the additives stopped the nerve cells from normal growth and interfered with proper signalling systems.

All of these additives are banned under Soil Association standards.
» Find out more about the Soil Association standards and additives

Is organic food fortified with vitamins and minerals?
Fortification refers to the policy of adding essential trace elements and vitamins to foodstuffs. Under Soil Association standards, organic foods must not be fortified with added artificial nutrients, unless required by law.

Why do you take this stance on fortification?
The Soil Association believes good health is founded on having a diet predominantly composed of minimally processed wholefoods. We cannot support food policies that accept the routine removal and degradation of nutrients by refining and other processing as normal, and then encourage the replacement of a few of the missing elements by fortification with synthetic versions.

We support greater consumption of wholefoods, and less consumption of refined, processed foods. This would address the many serious public health problems that are partially caused by unsuitable diets: obesity, cancer, constipation, behavioural problems, heart disease and infertility.

What is your position on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) proposal to fortify flour with folic acid?
We completely oppose mandatory fortification of flour as this would remove consumer choice, is a disproportionate measure and would bolster the health image of otherwise nutritionally poor processed foods. We argue in favour of an alternative option from the FSA to improve dietary education. We’re also concerned about possible long-term effects of supplementation and fortification, particularly in the light of the recent studies showing long-term increases in mortality from the use of vitamin supplements compared to the consumption of the natural phytonutrients.

New research on folic acid has been published by the Institute of Food Research in the British Journal of Nutrition (2007), October, 98.4. This found that synthetic folic acid (the type that will be used for fortification) is metabolised differently to the natural form of this B vitamin, folate. Natural folate is broken down in the stomach but synthetic folic acid is broken down by the liver. The concern is that if people take too much, the liver may release it undigested into the blood stream. Excessive levels of folic acid in the blood have been linked to breast cancer and could accelerate brain decline in some elderly people. Dr Sian Astley from the Institute of Food Research says this shows that the long-held assumption that folic acid is digested in the same way as folate appears to be wrong. There is now concern that the fortification policy would backfire and cause many more health problems for a wide range of people in the long-term.

If I eat organic food do I need to take vitamin supplements?
The Soil Association believes good health is founded on having a diet predominantly composed of minimally processed wholefoods, including a good amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. We believe that this gives the full range and sufficient level of vitamins and minerals required. Organic food production is a system which harnesses natural ecological and biological processes during agriculture to improve the sustainability and nutritional quality of food, rather than using synthetic chemicals.

It is unclear if vitamin supplements produce the same health benefits that have been found for the natural phytonutrients in the diet. There is strong scientific evidence that natural phytonutrients from plant food are highly beneficial for health and it was assumed that artificial supplementation would replicate these effects. However, scientific evidence is now coming out against certain vitamin supplements (for vitamins A, beta-carotene and E),and there are also concerns about folic acid (a type of vitamin B) supplements. Several long-term studies have found that these vitamin supplements may be ineffective and could even cause an increase in mortality. However, this is a very controversial area and the findings have not been accepted by other experts. If the findings are true, the reasons are currently unknown and could include a number of possible causes:

• Synthetic versions may have different effects to the vitamins found naturally in food
• Some supplements may be of GM origin which carries the risk of unidentified toxic by-products
• Unnaturally high, pure levels of nutrients result in an unhealthy stress on the body
• The nutritional value of phytonutrients is linked to complementary nutrients or the fact that they are contained in food that requires digestion. Nutrients consumed in isolation may not confer the same benefits.
• The other ingredients in the tablets may not be beneficial and could be harmful when consumed over a long period of time

It is up to you to make a choice whether to take vitamin supplements or not. If you do, we advise taking natural extracts, rather than synthetic versions. If you feel that you’re not getting the correct nutrients from your diet, the best course of action is to take advice from a reputable nutritionist.

You can easily avoid all potential health problems caused by food additives by simply eating fresh, unprocessed foods grown by your local farmer. Since these foods are not transported thousands of miles, they don't need to be processed, packaged or pumped full of preservatives, food colouring and artificial flavouring.